For some time we have been studying The Sutra of Hui-Neng, our 6th
ancestor from China. Hui-neng was a commoner, a peasant, who became
enlightened upon hearing the Diamond Sutra chanted in the marketplace. He
went to Northern China to study with Grand Master Hung-jen who transmitted
the bowl & robe (the Dharma) after he saw the depth of Hui-neng's
realization as communicated by his famous poem written on the monastery
wall:
Enlightenment originally has no tree,
And a clear mirror is not a stand.
Originally, there's not a single thing – (Emptiness)
Where can dust be attracted?
This week the topic of Repentance, specifically, formless repentance,
came up. Since the Buddhist view of formless repentance goes beyond
conventional experience, it is worthy of deeper investigation.
Hui-neng states that formless repentance will annihilate the sins of
past, present, and future, enabling you to attain purity of thought, word,
and deed.
Here's his version of formless repentance:
"From the preceding moment of thought, the present moment of
thought, and the following moment of thought, from moment of thought to
moment of thought I will not be affected by folly or delusion; I repent of
all previous folly and delusion, and other faults due to them, and pray that
they disappear all at once and never occur again.
From the preceding moment of thought, the present moment of thought, and
the following moment of thought, from moment of thought to moment of thought
I will not be affected by any conceit or deceit. I repent of all previous
misdeeds associated with malignant conceit and deceit, and pray that they
disappear all at once and never occur again.
From the preceding moment of thought, the present moment of thought, and
the following moment of thought, from moment of thought to moment of thought
I will not be affected by jealously and envy. I repent of all previous
misdeeds associated with malignant jealously and envy, and pray that they
disappear all at once and never occur again."
This straightforward prayer led me investigate the words of Katagiri
Roshi.
Katagiri Roshi, contemporary Zen Master, former Abbot and founder of
Minnesota Zen Center gave talks on formless repentance to students preparing
for lay ordination. He spoke about the Eihei Koso Hotsugammon, Great
Ancestor Eihei Dogen's Words for Arousing the Vow, as a chant of formless
repentance. We chanted this during service today.
Katagiri Roshi said there are 3 points to attend to in order to make
repentance in the presence of the buddha.
- You should realize buddha's great compassion which is open to all
beings.
Repentance to buddha. Who is buddha? Buddha is you.
If you say "in the presence" or "before the buddha"
always the buddha is in front of you. That is dualistic. In spiritual life
you have to repent of yourself, of your karmic life, to the buddha
directly.
Repentance is not something you have to feel bad about to apologize
for. That's more of the conventional meaning. People say "I'm
sorry" and after that, they're completely crushed. You don't feel so
good. It's also not about the constricted "I" of arrogance...or
false humility. It's more subtle than the specifics of conventional
reality.
To repent to the buddha, to offer yourself, bad karma, good karma,
whatever to buddha, means, "eternal possibilities." It is
really something positive.
One of the 3 marks of existence is "impermanence". We often
reflect on the deteriorating or decaying aspect of impermanence. We forget
about the becoming aspect which brings forth the realm of possibilities.
We need to let go, step into the moment, unencumbered.
To make repentance toward the buddha means to make your life alive, to
make your life anew.
Earlier in Hui-neng's formless repentance verse, the word,
"moment" in the context of past, present, and next was repeated
3 times. Each moment is an opportunity to make your life anew. Our
practice is a momentary practice wherein we bring awareness to each
moment.
Some of you may be familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Present
Moment, Wonderful Moment that is filled gathas for everyday activities
to help refine one's level of awareness. Here are two:
Sweeping
As I carefully sweep the ground of enlightenment,
a tree of understanding springs up from the Earth.
Here's a gatha to help us breathe consciously:
Breathing
In, Out; Deep, Slow;
Calm, Ease; Smile, Release;
Present Moment, Wonderful Moment.
- Secondly, Katagiri instructs us to have great vow to give quality to
our life. For whom? Not only for you, but for all sentient beings.
The presence of "you" is important. You should appreciate
your life, appreciate your presence.
Buddha's compassion is open to all beings. It is up to us to take the best
care of our presence for you, for others, for all sentient beings, to live
in peace and harmony. That is the vow. Not only for this lifetime but life
after life.
We have to look at our "immense span of lifetimes". This is kind
of practice is difficult for us westerners. Here in America we talk about
having 3 careers (probably more now), numerous jobs, multiple
relationships, marriages. We don't often experience the dedication of a
lifetime to "one thing." Maybe artists experience this level of
dedication.
For others the image of a Coastal Redwood or Sequoia living in King's
Canyon or Yosemite may bring one closer to a sense of the immenseness of
our lives. Or maybe viewing images from the Spitzer or Hubble Telescopes
star formations light years away triggers some sense of awe in our lives.
When I read Hui-neng bring us to the moment, I thought maybe we should
count the moments of our lives to gain perspective...but what is a moment?
In Abhidharma terms, there are 17 thoughts in a moment. So how many
moments in a minute, an hour, a day, a life? The number is immense!
Yet, some of you whom may have been practicing zazen for some time,
experienced the benefit of dedicated effort. Going deeper into things to
the source is the merging of the relative and the absolute. And the
vastness and immensity of life shines forth.
It's quite mysterious. It's quite profound. The benefits of this practice
are incalculable. This is the same for the practice of formless
repentance.
- Then, the third point is the performance of ceremony. It's important
because it is the place and the opportunity in which a person manifests
their spiritual life. People, time and place are all needed to do
something. The same applies to spiritual life.
Thinking about something in your head is not enough. If you want to do
something you have to manifest yourself. This is religious ceremony.
Repentance, making repentance of yourself, whatever you do in daily life
you cannot live without ceremony and ritual.
Just consider washing your face, brushing your teeth in the morning, eating
meals, and washing dishes. Broadly speaking, these are rituals. There is
intention and setness in the form. Dogen provided instructions to his monks
in his "Pure Standards for the Zen Community on just these
rituals. Bringing awareness and continuous refinement to these rituals is
formless repentance.
So how do we begin? Before you make repentance, you become a buddha. All you
have to do, practically, is "don't expect anything." You shouldn't
anticipate whether you will be free from ignorance or not through the
ritual. Just be one with repentance.
When we approach otherness in the zendo, we bow upon entering, bow to the
altar showing respect to the lineage, then to our zafu and to each other. In
effect we alter consciousness fully attending to some thing. It changes it.
In chanting we tend to the question of what is it like to be a being and
transmit sound? Have you ever woken up during chanting and heard the sound
of your own chant voice?
This is formless repentance. Manifest your true self, in this moment.
Appreciate your presence.
